The Making of Valentines
by punnylove
Summary: They're perfect the summer of their junior year—Prince Beck with the Jade the Ice Queen, talented Andre, funny Robbie, and sparkling, star Tori Vega. And then there's Cat, who goes away that summer and disappears forever, leaving only Caterina behind.
1. Before

_Reviews are greatly appreciated._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

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><p>People don't realize that before they were <em>BeckJadeAndreRobbieToriCat<em>, they were _BeckJadeAndreCatRobbie. _And before that, they were Beck the cool kid. Jade, the sexy outcast with black looks and a blacker tongue. Andre the singer. Robbie the fool.

Then, Cat Valentine stumbled into Hollywood Arts.

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><p>No one really understood what to make of the too-bright, scarlet-haired Cat. More importantly, no one knew why she was <em>at<em> Hollywood Arts.

Obviously, the girl could sing, but they'd all had friends who could sing as well, and besides her big voice, Cat didn't seem to be all that special. She couldn't dance, she broke character easily, and she had no instrumental background. So, Hollywood Arts ignored her.

Cat, however was never one to sit alone. Soon, she was bouncing to any table that would accept her.

Jade told her she was an untalented idiot, Cat smiled, _(it's ok because I'm not afraid of you) _and they became Cat and Jade.

Andre offered to help her out with her music, Cat smiled, _(I see you behind the talent) _and they became Cat and Andre.

Beck gave her his jacket after some jealous seniors poured drinks on her, Cat thanked him, _(you stand out despite acting like them) _and they became Cat and Beck.

_A red-headed focal point of three stars._

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><p>She introduces her friends to each other—Jade and Beck first, because she loves Beck and Jade's her very bestest friend. It's hate at first sight but after a day of insults they're making out and Cat is happy because now they're Jade<em>Cat<em>Beck.

She notices that Andre doesn't really have a place to sit soon after that—he's always at the piano or practicing the drums or writing music or _some_thing. Cat assumes with everyone else that he's just dedicated, until she one day she realizes that all that alone-time can get lonely.

Jade doesn't like it, but Jade doesn't like anyone that's not Cat and Beck so Cat invites him to sit down anyway. Andre's funny and he and Beck hit it off and after Jade stops snarking about him taking up her precious space they become Andre_Cat_JadeBeck.

At that point Hollywood Arts is taking notice, and she doesn't like this new group. Beck is crushed on, Andre is admired, and even Jade's Ice Queen persona generates respect—but Cat Valentine joining this illustrious group? No-talent, hyperactive, unprofessional Cat who refuses to get shoved into a group like everyone else?

It couldn't be allowed to happen.

Jade is the first to notice something's up, that Cat's clothes always seem to change, that she starts sporting bruises in strange places and that her smile, though undimmed, wasn't quite as vocal as before. She doesn't do anything—she's Jade _West_, for heaven's sake, she doesn't _do _caring—until Cat shows up to school one day with half of her hair chopped off.

Andre and Beck are all for beating up the culprit until they find out that it's Sabriana Malev, who is beautiful and popular and most of all _fe_male. Jade's all for kicking her skinny ass and then turning on the boys for being wimps but Cat finds out what they're planning and makes them promise not to do anything mean.

Or violent.

Or potentially harming.

Jade yells at her about letting everyone else push her around but Cat doesn't back down. She talks about rainbows and unicorn and sparkling lands, and eventually Jade stops screaming about Sabriana and starts snapping at her to quit being such a _ba_by.

Still, after every period Cat finds that either Andre or Beck or a scowling Jade is there to walk her to her next class.

She meets Robbie when he spots her furiously scrubbing at the black words streaking across her locker. Rex comments that she's a wasting her time but Robbie grabs a towel and tries to help. He ends up spilling the soap-water and Cat squeals but instead of turning on him she beams and asks him if he'd mind getting more.

They're laughing and scrubbing and Robbie is having the best thirty minutes of his life when the bell rings and Jade West storms over to find out why Cat never showed up for Band. She growls at the faded words—still legible, despite their best efforts, large blocked, _**You Don't Belong Here**_ and _**Go Home **_and _**Untalented**_.

Robbie nearly wets his pants when _the _Jade West turns on him like he was the culprit but Cat links arms with her best friend and invites him to sit with them at lunch. Robbie isn't suave or cool or particularly charming, but Rex is all that and after the boys get over the "puppet thing," they become AndreJade_Cat_BeckRobbie.

Cat's never been happier.

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><p><em>The taunts, pranks, and bullying stop after Cat's birthday. Andre buys her a cake, Beck gives her a bracelet, Robbie tries to sing and Jade hugs her. Cat almost starts crying because it's the closest anyone has come to throwing her a party and she's so happy.<em>

_Except—_

_"Andre, you got the number wrong," she giggles, and pulls out a candle. "There!"_

_There's a silence. Jade clears her throat. "So, you just turned thirteen?"_

_Cat's head bops up and down, but she's not really paying attention to anything except the ginormous chocolate cake and the bright candles that light it up._

_"But it's like, June." Rex is clearly disbelieving and Cat shoots the puppet a hurt look._

_"I'm a prodigy."_

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><p>It's so simply put, and yet those three words give Cat a place in Hollywood Arts. Suddenly, her childish naivety is accepted, her immaturity made allowances for, her overfriendliness smiled at instead of scorned.<p>

They're AndreBeck_Cat_JadeRobbie, and Cat's happy.

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><p>Tori Vega arrives in stars and talent and nearly shatters them. Suddenly <em>JadeandBeck<em> is in danger and Cat cries at the way she's pulled so thin that she's afraid of snapping. She loves Tori, who's funny and friendly and beautiful, but Jade is her best friend. She can feel her heart splitting as the days go by.

Somehow, they manage to survive.

_JadeandBeck_ stay together, and Cat smiles because that's how it was always meant to be—but then she meets Danny, who's handsome and funny and Tori's ex-boyfriend.

Her heart soars when Tori tells her she's ok with them dating, and breaks when she catches Danny, (_her Danny_), kissing Tori.

A small piece of her begins to die then, because even after she sees the truth in Tori's apology, she never sees the same apology in Danny. They break up, and he tells her that she's just too young, too childish, too _Cat._

It's the first time she's truly wanted to be different.

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><p>"Why do boys treat me differently? Am I weird?"<p>

Jade doesn't even glance up from her magazine. If she did, she might see the intensity hid beneath the deceptively calm question. She might have reconsidered her blunt, almost too-honest answer. She might have realized what Cat was truly asking.

But Jade didn't look up, and her brusque "yes" took less time than Cat had to truly understand its impact.

When the normally perky girl doesn't answer, Jade finally looks up with a frown. "You're weird because you're _Cat_. People who treat you like shit do it because you ask stupid questions and laugh randomly. You're a freaking _kid_." She means to be kind, to assure Cat that despite this, she's loved, but it's too late.

Another piece of Cat died when Jade said "yes."

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><p>"Andre, am I a kid?"<p>

"Hell, yeah, Little Red." Andre shoots Cat a grin before ruffling her hair, "You're tiny. I don't know how you manage to squeeze that voice into you."

Cat's smile didn't meet her eyes. Andre would never pat Jade's head, or Tori's—not like the way he was touching her. Still, he was Andre and he knew almost everything. She swallowed. "Am I pretty?"

There's no awkward silence, no blushing, no stammers or questions of why she's asking. Andre merely smiles and returns to his music. "Course you are, Cat. You're the cutest thing I've ever seen—and that includes the time my grandma's kitten got stuck in her shoe."

Cat makes a noise in her throat, but when Andre glances up, she's squealing over some random thing on the wall. He chuckles and goes back to composing, unaware that not two feet in front of him, Cat is fighting back tears.

_You could have just said "no."_

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><p>"Beck, I want to sign up for the new musical. Can you help me practice?"<p>

He looks surprised, _(Cat never competed with JadeandTori_). "Are you trying out for the lead?"

"Should I?"

Beck notices something in the way Cat's bangs are shading her eyes, the way she's standing—like a wounded bird not sure if she can still fly—and pauses. "Cat?"

Her head comes up and it's the same old, perky, hyper Cat who beams at him. "Just kidding! Jade should play Steamboat Suzy, or Tori!"

He doesn't reply, even though Cat _wantsneedshopes_ he will.

_Why aren't you telling me I could be just as good?_

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><p>Robbie strikes the final blow.<p>

Ironically, she didn't ask him anything. They had study hall together, and their teacher went on a long rampage on how each of them should be working harder on perfecting their skills. "After all," she said, "You all want to get into the Gold Classes senior year, don't you?"

Cat smiles at Robbie, who's furiously scribbling down notes. "I can't wait until we're all there. I heard the classes are amazing—"

The look on his face stops her cold. Robbie glances awkwardly at her. "Uh, Cat?"

"What?" _Why are you staring at me? _

"You know you have to audition, right? The tests are actually kind of hard."

She blinks. "How do you know?" _Why didn't anyone tell me?_

"Silkowitz had a class on how to prepare your portfolio." He hesitated, "I guess your invite got lost in the mail or something."

_Yeah, or something._

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><p>The last day of their junior year is beautiful. School lets out early and tears flow as friends part ways. Jade and Beck promise to keep in touch and then sneak away to make out behind the flagpole. Tori, Andre, and Robbie laugh and talk about senior year.<p>

Cat laughs with them, running off on random tangents, twirling like a fairy princess.

There's a brochure in her pocket with the name of the most difficult training camp she could find. A train ticket to Nevada.

She holds on to Cat until the last moment, when she gets off the train at _Musical Boot Camp_ and her cabin leader orders her to wash the dye out of her hair or cut it all off.

She cuts it all off.

_Good-bye, Cat._

The red fans like blood and ribbons on the wooden floor._  
><em>

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><p><em>They're perfect the summer of their junior year—Prince Beck with the Jade the Ice Queen, talented Andre, funny Robbie, and sparkling, star Tori Vega. And then there's Cat, who goes away that summer and disappears forever, leaving only Caterina behind.<em>

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><p>Author's Note: Will probably not be a one-shot.<p> 


	2. During

_Reviews, suggestions, questions are all welcome._**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

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><p>Boot Camp is a lot harder than she thought it would be.<p>

She's never been an outdoorsy kind of person, and the city girl within her rebels against the campfires, bugs, and grime. Her hair is gone, but Cat still struggles in her breast trying to worm her way back out. The number she's assigned becomes the cage that bars her way.

She's Number 7A. (Cabin A, camper 7).

Something about the cold systematic way she's been classified as appeals to her. Being treated as machinery is useful when all she wants to do is reinvent herself.

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><p><em>6:00 AM: Physical stamina training.<em>

_7:00 AM: Dance._

_7:55-8:10: Breakfast_

_8:11 AM: Dance_

_9:00 AM: Theater_

_11:00 AM: Instrumental music_

_12:00-5:00 PM: Singing, more dancing, more honing of skills, more strength training, more singing._

_5:00-10:00 PM: Make-up, Professionalism, Portfolio, Auditions_

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><p>Number 7A falls into bed each night with bruises and aches on top of those she accumulated the days before. She's too tired to think, too tired to cry, too tired to do anything but sleep and wake up the next morning, when she forces herself out of bed to begin it all over again.<p>

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><p>The physical pace exhausts her, but the emotional strain almost kills her. There are no friends at Musical Boot Camp. There are no companions, no rivals, no relationships. There are only trainees.<p>

The System toughens its trainees up, breaks them, or brings out the worst in them. Number 7A remembers the first days of Hollywood Arts, the cold looks and the apathetic smiles. She's been under the protection of _JadeBeckToriRobbieAndre_ for so long that she's forgotten what it feels like to be alone.

To not have Jade yelling at her for sitting down at her table.

To not have Tori smiling at her or Robbie and Rex making everyone laugh.

To not have Andre and Beck ready and willing to protect her if she needs it.

Cat wants to go home, wants to call her mom and rush back to California—to throw herself at her friends and pretend that being seen as a bubbly, air-headed child doesn't bother her. Number 7A pushes Cat ruthlessly down, locks her in and throws away the key.

Her hair starts to grow back.

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><p>She's not sure when Number 7A changes into Caterina. Her body gets stronger, leaner, tougher. She gets muscles <em>everywhere<em>, long, wiry muscles that don't bulk but consume the fat on her body so quickly that soon she feels like she's all strength.

Her hair is chestnut with streaks of amber and she keeps it in a bun and out of her way—but it's pretty and she likes it better than the fire-engine red she dyed it when she wasn't sure who she was.

She can dance—ballet, hip hop, and jazz. She can flip and cartwheel both forwards and backwards and her voice has grown powerful. Sweet, vibrant, but powerful. She sounds like the star, not the shy background harmonizer.

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><p>The last day of camp, she looks at the girls next to her—some changed, some broke, some held on to their B-rated talent and hate those who didn't—and realizes that she doesn't know a single one of them. She also realizes that she doesn't care.<p>

When she gets on the train back to California, the conductor asks her for her name and ticket.

She hands it to him, and smiles. "I'm Caterina Valentine."

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><p>There's still a month before school starts—<em>has it really been only two months?—<em>but she doesn't return the calls Tori and Jade left on her cell-phone. Her mom, dull-eyed and barely-registering her presence, doesn't comment on her changed look.

At a glance, her life hasn't changed.

Her mother is still disconnected with the world and rambling on about the day her dad will finally realize that he left the best part of his life behind when he ditched the Valentine family. Her brother is still a pothead who wanders in and out of the house depending on whether he remembers his address.

Cat ignored all this and tried to make things the way they should have been. She combed her mom's hair and made everyone breakfast, ignored the bruises when her mom's grasp got too tight or the vomit when her brother lost control of his body.

Caterina doesn't care anymore.

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><p>The auditions are so easy she almost laughs. They give her a piece of music and an hour to choreograph it—<em>Boot Camp gave her fifteen—<em>and she blows them away. All the steps are perfect, the movements graceful and yet sensual in a way fun, kiddy Cat never was.

She leaves the judges feeling flushed and makes her way out the door.

Sinjun nearly crashes into her as the judges call his name and he rushes into the room. His eyes meet hers and Caterina suddenly feels her chest tighten, but then Sinjun just flushes and fidgets and runs away with a brief, "Excuse me."

_Even Sinjun doesn't recognize me._

The knowledge gives her power, strength, and makes her happy. She's won. Cat is gone, leaving Caterina in her place. At least for now, she's in control.

When the acceptance letter comes in the mail—_all Gold classes, congratulations—_she's not surprised.

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><p>She keeps her Camp routine—jogging every morning, strength and ab work before and after breakfast. Lots of dancing. Even more singing.<p>

On the second day her mother stumbles into her room and tells her to shut up or get out.

_Wash the red dye out of your hair or cut it all off._

Caterina walks out.

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><p>The classified ads don't really give her much to go with. Most need a special skill that she doesn't have, and she knows better than to call a number with the area code from the wrong side of town. Caterina has nothing but her guitar, a backpack of clothes, the money in her pocket, and <em>her<em>.

She considers calling Jade or Tori and asking for a place to stay, but that's something Cat would do. Not Caterina.

Caterina is strong and self-sufficient. Caterina is beautiful, powerful, and, more importantly, she doesn't need anyone. She can take care of herself.

The cell-phone drops out of her hands and into the street, where a minivan runs it over. A piece of plastic flies from the debris and strikes her on the cheek. There's blood.

Caterina Valentine rips off the end of her jacket sleeve and presses it to the cut until it stops bleeding.

Much later, when she finally gets a chance to look herself in the mirror, there's a small white scar just under her cheekbone.

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><p>In the end, she gets a job at a bar. The people raise an eyebrow at the fourteen year old striding through the booze, sex, and gambling towards the karaoke bar, but Caterina doesn't care. She vaults up to the machine and locks eyes with the owner, who's regarding her with narrowed eyes from the bar.<p>

Terry, the bartender, shoots her a smirk. It's the closest thing to encouragement she'll get.

Caterina closes her eyes and tries to remember the woman's advice.

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><p>"<em>You're a bit young to be here, aren't you sweetie?"<em>

"_I want to work. I need to work."_

"_Blunt little thing. Let me give you some advice. See that man over there? He's the Boss. Give him the same attitude that you gave me, and maybe he'll give you a chance to do—whatever you do."_

_Caterina looks at this woman. Terry is tall, willowy, and beautiful, with perfect make-up and a gleam in her eye that wavers between humor and the knowledge of the bitter irony of life. "Why are you here?"_

"_Ever heard of privacy?" Terry pulls out a cigarette and lights it, "Oh, what the hell. It's not like it matters. My bastard of an ex stole my wallet and left me with nothing but several broken ribs and a harsh dose of reality. Said he loved me, would always love me. The whole shitload._

_Kept coming back, and I kept letting him. After the last time, I filed for divorce. He left me for dead in some alley. The Boss took me in, nursed me to health. Gave me a place to start over."_

_She slanted her eyes at Cat. "Don't get your hopes up, Sweetie. He's a businessman first and foremost. If I hadn't been hot and talented, I'd have been out on my ass the moment I got better."_

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><p>"I want to sing for your bar."<p>

The man doesn't even look at her. "Go home."

"Watch me."

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><p>Vincent Cornwell isn't a soft-hearted man, but he does have an eye for special things-so he doesn't leave when the five-foot two child marches up to the karaoke machine like she owns it. He doesn't turn away when she locks eyes with him. He listens when she starts to sing.<p>

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><p><em>"This song is for Terry."<em>

_On the first page…of our story…the future seemed so bright._

_Then this thing turned out so evil…don't know why I'm so surprised._

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn—but that's allright 'cause I like the way it hurts._

_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry—but that's allright 'cause I like the way you lie._

_I love the way you lie._

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><p>Working at the Broken Hearts is a new experience, but it pays well and combined with her tips, she isn't starving.<p>

It's still not enough to get her a place to live.

Terry notices the way she lingers as late as possible before finally heading out, notices the bags under her eyes and the way she shivers when she's not performing. Before Caterina realizes what's going on, she's sharing an apartment with a woman she barely knows.

It's still much better than living with a drunk shadow and a sometimes-there brother.

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><p>She applies for financial aid three days before school starts, only to find that as an all Gold Class student, her tuition is free. Terry smirks and drawls out a congratulations when Caterina tells her the news, but there's a pride in the woman's eyes that makes her happier than the knowledge that she'll be able to afford Hollywood Arts.<p>

That night, she sneaks back into her house to grab the remainder of her stuff, only to find her mother crying in her bedroom, a bottle of Vodka in her hand.

Cat would have run in hoping that the woman's tears were for her and that really, deep inside, Margaret Valentine loved her daughter. Caterina sees only regret and not repentance in her mother's tears and waits until the woman passes out before gathering up the rest of her stuff.

It's not much—just her laptop, some blankets, her old CD's and stationary sets. When Terry flips open her laptop screen and catches a glimpse of the screensaver, she smiles and asks who the red-head with the goofy smile is.

"Cat."

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><p><em>She'll reunite with her friends in the next chapter. <em>

_Also, "Love the Way You Lie," sung by Ariana Grande, (a.k.a. 'Cat'), can be found on youtube at_ _/watch?v=GGlklDOTq2Q. Or you can just search, "Ariana Grande - Love the Way You Lie"  
><em>


	3. Reaction

_Reviews make authors want to update._

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_  
><em>

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><p>Andre's the first one to see her. Somehow, between Tori and Jade bickering—what has it been, two minutes?—and Beck trying in vain to break things up, between Robbie's commentary and Rex's snarky comments, he catches a glimpse of chestnut and for some reason his brain screams red.<p>

"Hey, you guys, who's that?"

They turn, because even through the fighting they can hear something different in Andre's voice. Tori glances at the girl with chestnut hair quizzically. "I don't—"

And then she turns and they freeze, because it's Cat and yet it's not Cat. Cat would be leaping at them, squealing and hugging and hyperventilating with excitement, but this girl merely smiles and starts walking over. She walks differently, the skip in her step gone and replaced with a smooth glide that was all hips and grace.

It's enough to make Jade hesitate before yelling at Cat for not returning her calls, but because she's Jade, she does so anyway.

Cat might have cried, would have definitely apologized and done her best to make things smooth and fun and happy again, but this girl tells them that she no longer has a phone with Cat's face but someone else's eyes.

They don't quite dare call her a liar to her face.

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><p>"So," Tori says, because she's Tori and Cat's standing right in front of her and even though this feels strange it's still <em>Cat<em>. "How was summer camp?"

Cat smiles for the first time. It's a softer smile than the vibrant grin she'd sported before—softer, and quieter, but also not as revealing as before. "Life-changing."

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><p>They're not the only ones who don't recognize her. Mr. Sikowitz passes her in the hall and doesn't spare her a glance, but then again, he never really looked at Cat either, so Caterina doesn't really care.<p>

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><p>Their first class is voice, and the teacher brusquely orders them to introduce themselves and sing something. No one's prepared anything, but Jade and Beck snap out a duet and Tori sings a couple bars of "Make it Shine" in the way only Tori can. Andre easily makes something up on the spot, and Robbie stumbles through a rendition of "Popeye" that makes the teacher laugh.<p>

Then, it's her turn.

Caterina smiles at Tori's worried look and Beck's encouraging thumbs up—_they always expect me to be the weakest link—_and stands up. "My name is Caterina Valentine," she says, and can feel her friends flinching in surprise because when has she ever introduced herself this way?

Then, she opens her mouth and "Rolling in the Deep" is what comes out. She doesn't need to see the others' faces to know that she nails it.

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><p>Tori doesn't think her mouth has stopped hanging open since classes began. Part of her wants to go up to this stranger that's possessed her best friend's body and shake her until she goes back to normal, and the other part is afraid to. She's always considered Cat her best friend, but never truly felt that the red-haired girl saw her in the same way.<p>

And if even Jade was still observing the new creature wearing Cat's face, then Tori thought it was probably a good idea to follow her example. So she watches, and her surprise grows.

Everything about Cat has changed, from the way her soft body has changed to muscles and strength to the way she's taking charge of whatever task the teachers assign her. Dancing, vocals, instruments—no matter what she's doing, no one can take their eyes off her.

She's not the best in the room. Beck's still a better actor, Jade and Tori still get the solos, and Andre is still Andre. She's no where near being the best—but for the first time, she's in the running.

And, watching her snap out the new choreography they'd just learned with an almost uncanny grace, Tori has to admit that she's quickly catching up.

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><p>Robbie feels the difference most acutely. He'd changed as well over the summer—filled out where'd he'd once been skin-and-bones, lost his glasses for contacts, and actually tanned instead of burned. He'd imagined meeting Cat again, imagined finally working up the courage to ask her out, imagining finally being with the girl he'd crushed on for years.<p>

Now, watching Cat—_Caterina—_as she strode through the halls, he knew he'd never have a chance. Somehow, despite him finally escaping nerd-dom, she was still that much more ahead of him.

And he didn't need Rex to tell him that he'd never catch up.

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><p>Beck's the least surprised at the change in Cat, but then again, he was the only one who'd truly ever caught a glimpse of how strong the girl actually could be. Behind that sunny smile and the innocent way she'd offered her friendship had been a wall of steel that refused to break even when jealous seniors came at it with sledgehammers.<p>

That strength was no longer hidden by a cheerful smile or childlike demeanor. Instead, it covered her like a crown, evident in every tilt of her head and nuance of her voice.

He's aware of her now in a way that he's never been aware of her before. Suddenly, touching her seems strangely meaningful in a way it has never been before. Even the brush of his hands over her shoulders—a meaningless Cat and Beck gesture—is different.

He's not sure what to think about that.

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><p>Andre wonders where Little Red went, and why she decided to leave them. He wonders why Cat disappeared so quickly, so forcibly, and why Caterina seems so much <em>harder<em> than Cat had been. Because he's Andre, (_you're more than your talent) _he tries to coax Cat back out—but Caterina refuses to respond to her old nickname, and his throat just won't let him call her the mask she's chosen to don.

It's _not _her name.

Caterina's the one who beats out Tori for the solo in the year's first production. Caterina's the one who, when assigned to work with him, insist on cool professionalism instead of the joking back-and-forth banter they'd always shared. He'd always known that working with her would be different from working with Tori—who shone but needed others to power her light—but he hadn't imagined this.

Robbie catches him staring and says sadly that maybe Cat just decided to grow up without them. Andre doesn't notice the catch in the other boy's voice or the sadness in his honest brown eyes, because he's too busy rejecting Robbie's words.

Caterina isn't the grown-up Cat.

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><p>Growing up isn't supposed to put iron in your spine, ice in your eyes, and a hundred mirrors obscuring who you truly are.<p>

* * *

><p>Jade West does not take the change in her best friend well.<p>

She has always been aggressive, possessive, and fiercely jealous if anything tried to take what was rightfully hers. Cat, more than anyone except maybe Beck, was _hers_, and how dare she change into a stranger without taking Jade along with her!

Caterina's eyes are polite, and somewhere in their caramel depths Jade sees the friendship they'd always shared, but there's wariness and guardedness and _space _where Cat had always let Jade see everything about her—and Jade hates it.

It had been bad enough when Tori had walked into her life and tried to steal the two people in the world who were most important to her. (Ok, so maybe "steal" was too strong a word, but at this point Jade doesn't care.) People might have thought she overreacted with her hostile treatment of the new girl, but Jade saw the way Tori would link her arms with Cat and make the red-haired girl laugh.

Screw Beck, (and she would, long and hard), Jade knew he was loyal—but how _dare_ Tori try to take her naïve, impressionable best friend away from her!

But this—this was a million times worse. And as much as Jade wants to scream at Caterina to give her Cat back, she knows that the only thing she can do is win Cat back on her own, because she's Jade West and she's never given up anything she loved without a fight.

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><p>Trina watches their perfection falter and crack with pleasure. They'd never let her in to their perfect <em>ToriAndreCatJadeBeckRobbie <em>circle, no matter how hard she tried to squeeze out a little corner for _Trina. _She's never truly hated them, not even when her own sister abandoned her, but she'd always reserved a little something special for Cat.

They'd had a connection.

She'd seen a bit of herself in the girl, actually. Something about the unseen talent and way the others treated her, (_asiftheywerebetter_) was familiar and painful. The lighthearted ridicule, the _areyoustupid _looks that weren't meant to hurt but did—Trina knew them all, and the fact that Cat knew it as well had endeared her to the older Vega sister.

Now, watching Caterina pirouette and sing and win hearts, Trina smiles vindictively because one day she'll be the one showing all of them. She'll stand up with hard eyes and wow them with her talent. Tori's too stupid, Jade's too dense, and the boys are too blind to understand what has occurred.

They will shatter, and then she won't be the only one on the fringes anymore.

* * *

><p>Cat was the focal point for the group, and as Caterina watches her friends (<em>were they still even that<em>?) hang and stumble in limbo, she wonders if she should reach out and pull them all back in. They'd been perfect with Cat, but could they function with Caterina?

* * *

><p><em>Rolling in the Deep, sung by Ariana Grande, (a.k.a. Cat), is also available on youtube.<em>


	4. Aftershock

_Thank you to all those who reviewed, and sorry for the long delay. Chapter 5 will be up soon._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>_  
><em>

* * *

><p>The moments after a fissure breaks are the most crucial. Every second of delays, the cracks grow deeper, covering distance and breadth so fast that before you know it, there's a canyon separating Caterina and Cat—a bottomless gap between her and her friends.<p>

If she squints, she can still see them—Jade with her furious eyes and Tori with her confused smile and Robbie, whose head is tucked into his chest as he looks away. Andre has his hands over his mouth as if readying himself to call out to her—and Beck's hair is mussed as his dark eyes watch her move farther and farther away.

* * *

><p>They hesitate, treating her change as an explosion and waiting for the aftershocks.<p>

* * *

><p>Tori hopes she will return, hopes that in time the younger girl will go back to being the adoring, adorable child who giggled and clapped and harmonized beside her in the rain. Robbie suspects the catalyst for her change and probably understands the most. He does nothing because he both doesn't know what to do and isn't sure he should do anything at all. While he is torn and Tori is hoping, the cracks deepen.<p>

Jade stands in stony silence, the proud queen demanding in silent command that Cat return to her. She is brusque, angry, as if forcing _Jade_ into Caterina will bring Cat back. They wind up competing for the same roles, and Jade tries harder than she's ever done—harder than she ever did with Tori—and wins the part.

A part of her is waiting for Cat to squeal and hug her in congratulations, another wants to see Cat angry, furious—anything that would show there was still some of that impulsive emotional child within the new stranger named Caterina Valentine. In the end, when the cast list is read, Caterina's eyes are harder than she's ever seen them, but her voice is polite when she says, "good job" and "congratulations."

It hurts more than it should.

* * *

><p>Beck and Andre are caught between the sides. On one end, Tori and Robbie stand in indecision—on the other, Jade pursues Cat with all the stormy fury within her. They, on the other hand, stumble in the middle, trying to find a balance as the ground shifts beneath their feet.<p>

After all, although Caterina's new refusal to open up to them burns, they are also caught off guard by the new muscles that stretch beneath her clothes—the tanned, toned abdomen that teases from beneath a shirt that's just a bit too small.

She's a thing of beauty when she dances, all dark curls and grace and eyes that shimmer beneath hard glass. She makes the others in their classes catch their breath, and Beck and Andre are no exception. They lift her, spin her, glide by her side, but more and more she blossoms from the child they loved to this strange new creature.

This young woman, ready and able to hold her own—more like the rain beating against their arms than a butterfly in need of a cage.

* * *

><p>Caterina can feel her friends stumbling, drifting, unable or unwilling to bridge the expanse widening between them. She cannot bridge it either, cannot dump dirt back into the hole and pretend to be Cat again. She is afraid, terrified, even, of what this will lead to—and just as terrified that her friends will leap the gap and try to save her.<p>

She doesn't even know if she wants them to jump anymore.

She doesn't remember when she started thinking that she needed saving.

* * *

><p>Terry is worried for the girl sharing her apartment. A couple months ago, perhaps she would have let it go—after all, the teen helped pay the rent and stayed out of her way—but somehow, between that first song and the nights they spent curled up in front of the television, between the canned macaroni and the way they knew not to ask too many questions—Terry began to care for Caterina.<p>

The girl was just so talented, so sweet, and so sad. When she smiled, it was brilliant as the moon on a lake, but she did it so rarely that Terry mostly pictured Caterina with those big, somber eyes and bittersweet twist to her delicate features.

So she's just a bit warmer than she might have been otherwise—just a bit kinder. She pushes for responses, emotions, immaturity that will show that deep down inside, there's still a little girl trying to escape. Caterina doesn't respond at first, and Terry knows better than to try to punch through her walls. Instead, she soothes, softly knocking and waiting for the door to open.

* * *

><p>One night, they're at work and Terry's serving drinks when Caterina suddenly goes pale and her voice catches painfully in her throat. Terry's head snaps up almost painfully and she watches the girl flee from the stage, a staggering, drunken woman screaming her name.<p>

A part of her is screaming for her to let things be, because she _needs_this job and the Boss is a good man who actually treats her right. Then, the woman raises a hand and slaps Caterina across the face and Terry forgets that what she's about to do could get her fired.

She decks the woman.

The Boss let's them off with a warning.

* * *

><p>That night, Caterina crawls into her bed and snuggles up beside her. Terry can feel the girl sobbing, her tears wetting the stained bedspread. There will be time for questions in the morning, time for explanations and more tears—but for now, there's just them, lying on the bed with their arms around each other.<p>

Terry wraps her arm around the younger girl and hugs her tight.

* * *

><p>"Why don't you invite your friends over?"<p>

Caterina looks at Terry in surprise, and then not in surprise. She knows the older woman is worried about her, but really, who would she invite over? Perfect, brilliant Tori with her complaints about Trina and how she wishes she never had a sister? (Cat would have given anything for a sister.)

Or Jade, with her sharp tongue and sharper eyes who would insist that Caterina leave and move in with her. Or Beck and Andre—or Robbie, who'd cower and blush while Rex made rude comments.

She looks up with a hint a smile on her face but all the seriousness in the world in her voice when she tells Terry that it's probably not a good idea. For now, anyway.

She wonders who she's trying to give hope to.

* * *

><p>They're trying to leap now—she can feel it in the way they treat her, how they're suddenly by her side or in her space or at her locker. Tori claims their Vocal Class as "their girl-time," and Caterina can't help but wonder why the brunette is trying so hard to make conversation.<p>

(Before, it'd been her trying to edge in a word or two between _ToriandAndre_ or _ToriandJade_ or even _ToriandBeck_. And even when she did, usually it resulted in blank stares and raised eyebrows.)

She's snapped out of her memories by an insistent whisper. "_Cat!_ _Cat!_" She almost doesn't turn around, but her body doesn't listen to her brain and moves anyway.

Tori's smiling her bright, friendly smile and scooting closer again, and Caterina's almost relieved when her teacher announces that class is beginning and "would people stop moving around?" Tori freezes, but somehow manages to cross the last couple seats and land in the one next to her.

"Hey, Cat."

Caterina's eyes don't leave the teacher as he begins lecturing on the importance of orange juice. "My name is Caterina."

* * *

><p>She's really getting tired of repeating it, so perhaps that's why Robbie's company is suddenly the easiest to bear. He's the most awkward, and yet the least different. There's a distance between them now that's new, but she has a feeling that he's so used to being on the other side that her moving away isn't too much of a shocker.<p>

He smiles awkwardly in the hall when they pass, and she gives him a small nod, because even though his voice cracks and he stumbles when he tries to pronounce the whole thing, _Caterina_is always what comes out of his mouth when he addresses her.

His puppet hangs limply on his arm, head faced away from her or hissing in Robbie's ear. She almost misses his crude jokes, the way he represented the other side of Robbie. The suave lines, the funny jokes—the times he called her beautiful.

Now, Rex doesn't speak to her at all.

* * *

><p>She can't afford clothes that fit perfectly and most of it is Terry's hand-me-down's, so yes, some of the clothing are a bit tight, and others too loose. Yes, she does notice the eyes trailing the expanse of skin between her jeans and blouse, and she does realize that Andre and Beck haven't touched her since her return.<p>

Then, they land in the same dance class and suddenly they're always at her elbow, and Caterina has to admit that it feels nice to lean into Andre's chest before spinning away—that relying on the strength of Beck's arms as she leaps isn't exactly unpleasant.

Still, while Cat gave her hugs and kisses away with the sweet innocence of a child, Caterina watches her two friends with a new awareness that she sees reflected in their eyes as well. She's relieved when the teacher decides to assign them all partners.

* * *

><p>Chad is blonde, with blue eyes and a tan that makes him look like the perfect, all-American surfer-boy. He's also spent the last four years of his life attending the same Boot Camp she attended the past summer. In other words, he's very, <em>very<em> good.

His hands send fire racing along her hips and she doesn't protest when they linger just a little too long. She does reject his offer to help her with her choreography—word gets around, and Chad's got a reputation of stealing hearts and then leaving them out to dry.

He just winks and tells her that she'll come around.

* * *

><p>Sometimes, lying on the ground after a vigorous workout, she runs her hands along her sweaty hair and remembers when it used to be scarlet. When she would spend her time trying to reach Jade or Tori or even Robbie because she needed an excuse to get out of the house.<p>

Now, her phone is still in pieces in some gutter in the middle of the road.

She hasn't bothered getting a new one.

* * *

><p><em>They crack before they heal, and sometimes, as they sing and dance and watch the rain fall, they wonder they'll ever outrun the spindly lines that threaten to burst them apart. Whether they'll be able to realign along the cosmos, or if, at the loss of their focal point, they will all float off into space.<em>

* * *

><p>Review!<em><br>_


	5. Shatter

_Sorry this is so late!_

* * *

><p><em><em>**Chapter 5  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Somehow, they've reached equilibrium—a tentative, tightly strung balance that needs only a gust of wind to blow it back into chaos.<p>

Jade's the one to breach the gap first. After all, she's never been one to give up on those she loves, and so she tries, and tries, antagonizing Caterina and trying to get her to break out of the wall she's hidden herself behind. They audition for the same role in the winter musical, and Jade spends late nights training herself to be absolute perfection.

When she gets the role, she's ecstatic, but when she looks at Cat—hoping to see anger or frustration or happiness or _something_—the girl merely smiles with no emotion in her eyes and congratulates her.

It hurts more than it should.

* * *

><p>She cries in Beck's arms that night, and even while part of her is hating Cat for making her so weak, the other part is wondering why she hadn't held Cat closely enough—why she hadn't kept her from spiraling away.<p>

Beck holds her, muffling her questions with his lips and tracing away the tension in her back with his hands. "We'll get her back," he murmurs, even though it makes no sense because Caterina's never left, "We'll get her back."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jade and Beck come to school smelling of sex and togetherness and Caterina greets them with an awareness in her eyes that's never been there before. Jade watches her best friend—she refuses to consider that she might be anything else—carefully, and sees just a hint of longing swimming in the dark brown depths.<p>

The next time she and Beck make out, and Caterina starts to leave, Jade grabs the smaller girl by the wrist and Caterina stills, unsure of why Jade's hand is gripping her so tightly, but so gently as she presses her mouth to Beck's. The hand pulls.

She sits down and opens her textbook.

* * *

><p>Andre finds himself watching Cat more and more, especially during music class, <em>(it's easier to think when she isn't pressed up against him in dance or filling the room with her voice during vocals)<em>. She notices, of course, but after the first few weeks pass, her tense shoulders relax and she shrugs his gaze off.

She never once looks at him. He wants to think that she knows he won't look away if she does.

* * *

><p>The teacher assigns an instrumental project and he claims Caterina and his partner before anyone else can. Cat doesn't object, though she does flinch, just a little, when he uses her full name. Andre ignores this, and pulls up a seat at her desk. "So, Little—" his voice catches—<em>her hair's not scarlet anymore<em>—and he disguises the pause with a cough.

She cuts in gracefully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The assignment requires both of us to play an instrument. I need to learn to play the guitar."

He almost asks—_why not piano?_—but there's something in her eyes that warns him away from it. He's never been quite sure where Cat stood in regards to finances, and he knows even less about Caterina's situation. It bothers him more than he expects it to, but he pushes the thought away.

"Want to come over today to practice?"

Caterina hesitates, because even though _Cat's_ been to his house hundreds of times, she never has. Then, her chin lifts and she looks him straight in the face. "Ok."

* * *

><p>Later, when he's guiding her fingers as she learns the basic chords, she ignores how close she is to sitting on his lap. He ignores how good it feels to hold her in his arms. They both ignore the fact that the guitar she brings over is ancient, with strings like rubber and rough, well-used wood.<p>

Then, Beck walks in on them and the look in his eyes shock both of them out of their pretending and they jump apart.

* * *

><p>"We were just practicing."<p>

"I know."

"Yeah, right. Man, I saw the look on your face. You would've thought I was assaulting your baby sister, or something."

A raised eyebrow. "Assaulting…"

"You know what I mean."

Beck doesn't respond, because he does know what Andre means, and he's not sure why the sight of his best friend and Cat pressed together—even if he knows it was innocent—rubbed him the wrong way. "I just don't want anything to happen," he says finally, "One wrong move, and she's gone."

"Yeah," Andre says bleakly, "One wrong move."

* * *

><p>Cat's face is red as she sprawls across her bed. Caterina isn't quite sure what the fuss is about, but her cheeks are tinged as well. Not much, barely anything by Cat standards, but something is still there.<p>

* * *

><p>The next day, she's passion and fire on the dance floor, and Chad matches her fearlessly. They're both panting by the time class ends, and she's not sure if it's on purpose when she lingers afterwards.<p>

She decides that it was when he pulls her into a corner and kisses her after everyone leaves—and she doesn't feel a bit of surprise. His mouth is soft, skillful, experienced, and already his hands are traveling up her waist and she's caught, unsure of whether to push him away or kiss him back.

Fate decides for her.

Chad pushes her against the wall as he leans forward to deepen the kiss, and she hits her arm hard enough to jerk her out of the daze. He isn't exactly helpful when she pushes away, but he doesn't hold her there either. She takes a step back, trying to reassess the situation, trying to ignore the pounding in her blood.

His smile is cocky, but the look in his eyes hold a hunger that makes her skin tingle. "Like I said before, you'll come around, babe."

She walks out.

* * *

><p>By the next day, it's all around the school and making its second trip.<p>

_Did you hear? Chad's chasing Caterina. _

_Really? Omigosh, they'd be so great together! _

_What do you mean? _

_He's talented, she's amazing—they're perfect._

_Wasn't she dating that puppet boy?_

_Robbie? No way. I always thought she was with Andre._

_Whateves. Point is, now she's with Chad._

_Yeah._

* * *

><p>And with that, the equilibrium shatters like a windowpane, shards of glass flying into the wind as the six scramble, trying to dodge the shards and collect them at the same time.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Might introduce new OC's. Who should Caterina end up with? Any ideas? Reviews = Updates.<em>


	6. Fall

_Hope this makes up for my lateness with the last chapter._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

* * *

><p>They dance now, some twirling with no regard to the fact that their footsteps are making balance dangerous, while others just try not to topple off into space.<p>

* * *

><p>Tori's never been one to worry—there's never really been anything for her to worry about—but suddenly there's a grip in her stomach every time she hears the rumors about Chad and Caterina.<p>

Or Chaderina.

It's the new thing, apparently, to mesh names of popular couples, and even though Chad and Caterina haven't been caught doing anything yet, the student body is determined to make them an item.

Normally, Tori would be knee deep into the news, exchanging gossip with Jade—who usually snarked back that she couldn't care less who and what was doing who—and fending off Trina's complaints that she's so much more suited for whatever guy in the relationship.

This time, however, it's Caterina.

Jade walks around with a lightning brewing under her skin, and Trina's surprisingly silent on the topic. And Tori is worried.

She's aware of Chad the way all single girls are, and has heard the rumors. Chad, who makes girls feel like they're on air one day, only to let them crash and burn the next.

Mixed in with the "they'd be so great together," and "how cute are they?" are the warning undertones, the shadows that come from girls scorned and heartbroken.

So Tori acts, stumbling because while stars glow and illuminate, they also flash uncomfortably when they're forced to interact with those still on the earth.

* * *

><p>"Cat—erina. Caterina."<p>

A brief pause. "Yes?"

"Um. I heard you're going out with Chad."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not."

"Oh." An awkward silence. "Cat—"

"I'm really not dating him."

"I know. I just want you to be careful."

"About what? I said I'm not dating him."

"He has a reputation of taking hearts and breaking them."

"I know."

"…you do?"

And Caterina finally looks up, her eyes hard despite the smile on her lips. "I'm not stupid, Tori. I know better to think a guy like Chad will fall for me."

* * *

><p>She doesn't really believe it—<em>Cat's the insecure one, not Caterina<em>—but the way Tori flinches is so rewarding that she doesn't take it back. She knows they're both remembering Danny.

* * *

><p>When stars don't make enough of a fuss, thunder hits.<p>

Jade, surprisingly, isn't the one to lose her temper first.

* * *

><p>"I'm not a child!"<p>

"I don't care. You don't understand that he's dangerous."

"And what if _I _don't care? What if I want dangerous for a change?"

They stand, fists balled, face inches apart. Caterina's eyes blaze with a fire that matches the fury in Jade's, and they refuse to budge, their feet planted, until the bell rings.

As Caterina storms away, she barely catches Jade's parting shot, the sound carrying on the wind so lightly that she's almost sure she imagines it. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

* * *

><p>Chad kisses her again after class. This time, she pulls away as soon as their lips touch, and puts enough distance between them that she can clearly see the tilt of his eyebrows as he regards her.<p>

"Not in the mood, babe?"

There's no mockery in his tone, just confidence, and for a moment she's attracted, but then Tori's face flashes into her mind, and perhaps stars have more effect than they seem to at first, because Caterina turn to walk away.

Chad's voice stops her. "Don't believe everything you hear. I'm not quite as heartless as your friends think."

"I don't do everything my friends say."

"You sure?"

She leaves, but there's a hesitance in her steps that makes Chad grin. Then again, he thinks, watching her stalk away, he's been wrong about her before.

* * *

><p>"Do you know what you're getting into?"<p>

There'd been an unspoken line between her and Beck before this. He just crossed it. Caterina's chin tilts upwards, and she has to crane her neck slightly to meet his eyes. "Did Jade—"

"No."

It's all he has to say, and the challenge in her gaze fades slightly. "I don't know what you mean."

"Tori's right." It doesn't surprise her that he knows about Tori's speech. "Chad's not the type to let a girl down easy."

"And I'm not the type to let him throw me away if I decide I want him to pick me up." The words come out a lot more confidently than she expects, and apparently Beck thinks so to, because suddenly his hands are on her shoulders and he's forcing her face up.

Whatever he sees in her face apparently makes him think better of it, and he lets her go. "Be—"

"—careful." She smiles slightly. "I know."

He walks away first, not sure if the _thank you_ was directed towards him, or Tori, or Jade, or all of them. Not sure if it matters.

* * *

><p>Andre never mentions Chad at all. They continue to work on their project, their voices melding better and better, her fingers getting surer on the string of the guitar until she no longer needs him to guide her hands.<p>

Sometimes, she wonders if she's imagining the sudden distance between them, and then he makes a joke and she almost laughs the way Cat did. Almost.

He pretends he doesn't see it, and she pretends it never happened.

It gets harder and harder.

* * *

><p>She thinks that it's ironic that the first thing Rex has said to her all year is the only thing she doesn't want to hear from him.<p>

"You bein' stupid, girl," the puppet scolds, wagging its head sagely, "You gonna get burned."

Caterina raises an eyebrow at Robbie, but the boy is beet red and trying to shush the puppet on his left arm. "Quiet, Rex!"

"I won't be quiet. Jade, Tori, and Beck have told you, and I'm not gonna shut up until I say my piece. Stop bein' stubborn and listen! You're not ready."

The irony doubles when a puppet becomes the one to push Caterina over the edge.

* * *

><p>This time, when she and Chad finds themselves alone, she's the one that kisses him.<p> 


	7. Dance

_Here's an update. Reviews are appreciated!_

* * *

><p><em><em>**Chapter 7  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Somewhere along the way, someone falls in love. Then again, that's hardly surprising, considering how many members of this delicate equation are already emotionally entangled.<p>

* * *

><p>Chaderina doesn't die after they become an official couple. Rather, it grows, and soon they're everywhere. The iconic couple. Caterina shrugs the attention off but doesn't remove Chad's arm around her slim shoulders. Chad winks at the eager questions but, surprisingly, doesn't behave quite like the rakish heartthrob he's infamous as.<p>

The year's first dance rolls around, and of course they're nominated for King and Queen. Caterina imagines herself with a crown and almost smiles, while Chad lazily points out that he has a collection of the plastic, sparkling things back at home. She's shocked into blushing when he goes on one knee.

* * *

><p>They win, of course. She's graceful and ethereal in her silver, slivery dress that's slightly too big up top and a couple inches too long, and he's heartbreaking in his perfect tux. More than one video ends up online of them dancing, and then of their crowning.<p>

Caterina feels almost like she's flying, and when Chad insists on lifting her after she is officially crowned Queen, she almost is. Her heart is somewhere in the stratosphere, until he sends it crashing down to earth by placing an arm firmly around her waist.

His question comes as a surprise to both of them.

* * *

><p><em>"I thought you didn't date."<em>

_"Babe, I told you not to believe everything your friends say."_

* * *

><p>She does, though, because no matter how deep Cat is inside her, a star's glow penetrates and lightning always finds its mark. So she keeps her distance. And the golden boy who's never run out of fake glitter and a faker smile realizes that for the first time, he's the one who wants more.<p>

* * *

><p>Wanting something and acknowledging that wanting are two separate things, however, and Chad has spent the last couple years of his life pushing away the very emotions now threatening to creep up upon him. He tells himself that it's the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline that accompanies a challenge that makes him want her, and for a couple days, that's enough.<p>

However, if there's one virtue that Chad has always possessed, it's honesty. And intelligence.

He is no fool, and when he catches himself admiring the curve of his girlfriend's cheek as opposed to curves further south, the realization of his feelings edge ever closer.

* * *

><p>It happens two weeks in, during an audition. She'd asked him to be her partner—who wouldn't want the best—and after hours of practice after school, the audition date finally arrived.<p>

Chad wasn't blind—he knew Caterina must have had a job after school, but even so, the shadows under her eyes as they took the stage sent something suspiciously like concern worming into his heart.

She's just a bit less sure that day, her movements a bit less controlled, and when she goes into her last spin, he feels her stumble before he sees it. His body is moving before his mind registers what he's doing.

* * *

><p>Cat can only feel disappointment—in herself, in the situation—as she falls. She's always wanted to play Odette, always wanted to be the princess, and now it seems she'll never have the chance. The Boss hadn't asked her to work late, but she'd needed the money and hadn't expected the extra two hours to take such a toll on her body.<p>

That spin was built around a specific group of muscles, and right now, they felt as soft as water and not nearly as strong. She hadn't been all that surprised when her leg gave out. What did surprise her was Chad's sudden grip around her waist as he turns the mistake into a sweep, then an elegantly executed lift.

She's in the air as the music crescendos, and above the judge's claps and the sudden catch of her breath, she hears her heart pounding.

* * *

><p><em>"You didn't have to do that."<em>

_"No, I didn't."_

* * *

><p>He lays in bed that night without moving, mind in the clouds and brain whirring furiously. At a time less iconic than midnight, he makes his decision, and smiles.<p>

* * *

><p>Flowers aren't her thing, and chocolates aren't his, so he settles for little gestures, like a protective hand at the center of her back that doesn't slide down, a warning look when he catches the eyes of his former peers wandering, a supporting arm when she's so exhausted that she looks like the wind will knock her over. He kisses her hair, holds her hand, and Caterina feels herself melting despite herself.<p>

She's not quite ready to give in yet, though.

* * *

><p>It's one of fate's sadistic coincidences. If her friends had left things alone, Chad would have eventually given up, only for Caterina to realize how much she'd come to depend on him. They would have had a stormy, passionate courtship culminating in a renewal of their relationship, and several years and several more heartbreaks later, they would have gotten married. It would have taken several more years after that, but eventually her friends would have accepted Chad and their relationships would have been rebuilt. A flying walrus would have been involved.<p>

Then again, one could argue that what really happened was even better.


	8. Storm

****_Reviews appreciated.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

* * *

><p>It all starts when Jade and Beck break up.<p>

* * *

><p>Caterina is the last to hear it, but somehow, she's the first to know. In a way, it isn't surprising-Cat's always had a sixth sense regarding her friends, and no matter how deep Caterina had shoved her former self, the unease that permeated her body that dusty Tuesday morning told her that something was deeply, horribly wrong.<p>

When she gets to school, the campus is buzzing with the news, but Caterina refuses to believe it, because even though she'd been the heart of the group, Beck and Jade were the backbone and how could they leave everyone else to fall apart? A part of her—the mean, bluntly honest part—berates her for being a hypocrite, but Caterina swallows the guilt and stands strong, even though all she wants to do is let Cat loose, in the hopes that maybe if she goes back to the silly girl she'd been, Jade and Beck would be whole again.

* * *

><p>She manages to keep the news at bay until first period, when Tori stumbles in to class with red eyes and a red handprint fading on her left cheek. From across the room Caterina sees the other students in the class surge up, ready to drown her friend—<em>when had she started thinking of them as friends again?<em>—in questions masked as concern and sympathy.

Her body is moving before her mind catches up, and when the smoke clears she finds herself sitting next to Tori and her eyes shooting lightning at anyone who dares come too close. They retreat, because while Cat's steel wall had been impenetrable, Caterina's melted it down and made a crossbow, and she's ready to fire upon anyone who takes another step closer to Tori's—_her_—tragedy.

* * *

><p>"What happened?"<p>

Tori puts her face into Caterina's shoulder and weeps, and perhaps a small part of her whispers that she never would have trusted Cat to hold her. Then again, she wasn't all that sure she trusted Caterina to hold her, until she feels the other girl's slim arms wrap around her shoulders and Caterina—_Cat?_—whispering softly in her hair.

Somehow, she knows it's okay not to answer.

* * *

><p>She sees Robbie in the hall after making sure Tori gets to her next class. His eyes are slightly dazed—not red like Tori's, but unfocused, as if even his contacts aren't enough to repair his vision. His face is free of Jade's violence, but Rex looks like he's just been dragged through hell. The poor puppet groans softly, but Robbie doesn't seem to notice.<p>

Caterina hesitates before walking forward. Slowly, she stoops down and speaks. "Rex—" The words feel strange in her mouth. "What happened?"

Her heart is pounding harder than it should. She knows Rex is a puppet, just as she knows that by addressing him, she's cracked Cat's prison door open just a crack, and that if Rex rejects her, it will hurt. The puppet slowly turns to look up at her, and Cat can see stuffing through fingernail-gouged wounds.

She reaches into her pocket, pulls out the band-aid she'd been saving for emergencies, and tapes the two sides together. Rex sighs, and then the bell rings. She's gone before she realizes that the puppet never replied.

* * *

><p>Her next period is dance, and Caterina's heart clenches high and tight in her chest as she walks through the doors. Chad walks up to her, but one look at her face and he takes a step back. Caterina cannot bear to let her question fall from her lips to the ears of a boy not part of <em>BeckAndreJadeCatToriRobbie<em>, so she doesn't speak at all, but turns to find the boys that are.

She sees dark skin and straight hair, and then she's running to Andre, whose arms are open and her face is in his chest and she's crying. And Andre—kind, friendly Andre who taught her to play guitar and gave her nicknames—his hold is cold and warm at the same time. It isn't until she feels the wet in her hair that she realizes that he is crying too.

* * *

><p>They ditch class.<p>

No one tries to stop them.

* * *

><p>She sends one look at Chad before she goes with Andre, partly out of habit, partly because she cared about what he thought—<em>when did that happen?<em>—and mostly because she knew that if he tried to stop her, it was over. Her boyfriend didn't stop her, nor did he nod in permission, or ask any questions.

She almost loved him for it.

Almost.

* * *

><p>They end up no where, driving around and around in Andre's car. She stops crying, forcing the tears back into her eyes and feeling them burn on the way down. As they turn onto yet another suburban street for the fifth time, she finally draws enough breath to whisper the question.<p>

"What happened?"

* * *

><p>Third time's the charm, but he doesn't answer, and Caterina realizes that perhaps her friends know her better than she thinks, because she's just realized that that wasn't her question after all. She wasn't asking what happened. She was asking if it was her fault.<p>

* * *

><p>They circle another two blocks before Andre answers. "We found out this morning. Beck'n Jade—" <em>BeckandJade<em>, Cat thought numbly, "—they left us notes on our pearphones. You—I guess you really don't have yours, or you'd know." His knuckles were white as he clenched the wheel. "No explanation. Jade slapped Tori when she asked."

"Beck?" Cat asked.

Andre's eyes were dark. Flat in a way that wasn't Andre at all. "He didn't show up at school today."


	9. Reprieve

****_Reviews appreciated.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

* * *

><p>Jade was Cat's best friend, but Caterina goes to Beck first, because Jade scratches when she's hurting, and Caterina can't take any more guilt. Her hidden question still pulses under her skin, and Jade's always been good at finding weakness. Andre doesn't seem surprised when she asks him to drive her to Beck's house, but turns onto a different street instead.<p>

"He won't be there," he says when she protests, "Beck's not the type to mope in his trailer. He'll be at the park. Or in Vegas."

She almost smiles at that, except that she knows that it's true. Beck may seem like the most laid-back, down-to-earth of their group, but no one that level-headed would have lasted with Jade. She knew—and had heard Jade confirm it on numerous occasions—that when Beck was angry, or hurt, he wandered.

And suddenly, it was essential that she find him.

* * *

><p>They split up when they get to the park, partly because it's huge, mostly because they both know that Cat will find him first, and Caterina won't let her out unless she's completely alone. When Andre's dark head is gone and even his shadow is beyond her sight, Caterina wipes away the last vestiges of her tears and orders herself to be strong.<p>

She'd held Tori, patched up Rex, and skipped class, all without letting Cat loose.

She feels guilty for worrying about herself at a time like this.

She's more afraid of losing the new persona she'd built up.

* * *

><p>It's like coaxing out a loose memory that flits and flutters while she struggles to catch it, but like a memory, once Cat is out, she grabs control with a vengeance that shakes Caterina. Before she knows what she's doing, Cat is crying out for Beck like the lost child she is and she's running wildly, abandoning the cool control that Caterina always had.<p>

Cat's voice is loud and teary and Caterina fights it, but she can't stop the voice forcing itself out of her mouth—and then she spots Beck by the swing-set and Cat throws herself at him, burying her face in his shirt like they used to do. It's only when she feels his breath catch against her cheek and his arms slide tentatively around her that she looks up, and the look on his face jerks Caterina back in control.

She sits up, wiping furiously at her face. It's not her that needs comforting right now.

* * *

><p>They don't speak, but Caterina sits next to him—tall, strong Beck that makes girls stare and swoon who's <em>her friend<em>—and talks quietly about nothing. Bits of nonsense flow from her—Cat's words in Caterina's voice, and now and then she can see Beck's tired eyes lighten, his lips quirk just a bit.

His face is so sad.

Beck's always had the best hair out of all of them, and even with the wind blowing it every which way, he still manages to look like a prince. She stops talking, letting her voice fade away into nothing, and then less than nothing.

* * *

><p>The first time she hesitates is because tears are suddenly threatening to crawl up her throat and she needs control. Especially now.<p>

The second time is because she's ready to ask her question, and she's not afraid he won't answer, because she knows he will. She just isn't sure she wants to hear the answer.

* * *

><p>He looks surprised when she lets the words slip from her lips, but he doesn't give her the denial that she so desperately wants. Nor, however, does he affirm the suspicions that gnaw at her heart. Instead, he turns to her, and sweeps a strand of hair behind her ear, just like he's done to Cat a million and one times.<p>

"You know," he muses, "You were the only one that I could talk to without setting Jade off." His voice doesn't waver when he says her name, which she assumes is a good thing, but there is a fragility behind his eyes that betrays the fact that he too, is shaken.

Then, she kicks herself because of course he's shaken. After being part of _JadeandBeck_ for so long, could he even remember who Beck alone was? She wasn't even sure _she_ knew who Beck alone was.

* * *

><p>No. That was a lie.<p>

Beck alone was her friend, the boy who had given her his jacket when she was cold and confused because Cat didn't know how to deal with cruelty. While Jade attacked, he stood by her side with his arm around her shoulder, and for the first time Cat had felt safe. Protected.

Beck alone was a great singer and a better actor, who'd gone on internships in great places with great names and who'd go somewhere after Hollywood Arts. Beck alone was funny, strong, and went walking whenever he needed to get lost.

She doesn't realize she's talking out loud until Beck smiles. It's a sad smile, true, but still, his shoulders straighten just a little. "You always knew what to say," he said, "Even before you changed."

* * *

><p>There. It's out in the open.<p>

Beck had never asked her why, and he wasn't now. Caterina bites her lip, unsure of how to respond, or whether she should.

Andre's loud call makes up her mind for her.

* * *

><p>With Andre's too-cheerful grin—he's always been able to hide pain when it mattered—and Caterina's quiet support, Beck feels loved. Because he has done so for so long, and because he is Beck, he wonders who is comforting Jade, and then realizes belatedly that he doesn't really care.<p>

He's so tired of caring for a girl who's too strong to want it, or appreciate it.

* * *

><p>"So, man. Whenever you're ready."<p>

"It was over a long time ago—we just never said anything. The fighting, the constant jealousy, everything wasn't right."

"So, what changed?"

"I realized that I wasn't what she wanted, and she wasn't what I wanted."

* * *

><p>They know him better than that, but it's all he's willing to give right now and they accept it. The shadows grow longer as the sun moves across the sky, and suddenly Caterina—who remained silent throughout the conversation—jumps to her feet, and grabs the swing next to Beck.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Watch."<em>

_"I know how to swing."_

_"Just watch."_

It's not a request.

* * *

><p>Instead of pushing off, she twirls, crackling the chains until they criss-cross in a long spiral pattern above her head. When she lets go, she watches his face, watching it blur as the swing's speed picks up and everything blurs into one long strand of color. She's slightly dizzy when her feet dig into the sand and she stops, but the looks on Beck and Andre's faces are worth it.<p>

"Now, you try."

* * *

><p>They spend the rest of the day pushing each other and laughing, twirling and falling when they try to leap off and find that the world is shifting beneath their feet. It's an afternoon outside of reality, until the sun starts setting and the park goes dark. Caterina shivers as a cold breeze breaks them apart, sending them back to earth.<p>

Andre takes them home.

She's too tired to remember that he doesn't know where she lives anymore.


	10. Flashback

****_Suggestions welcome.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

* * *

><p>"What the <em>hell.<em>"

"I don't know—"

"Why would you even—"

"It's not that big of a deal!"

"Screw that, you're coming home with me tonight."

"_No_."

* * *

><p>They lock wills, Caterina's sleep tousled hair framing her small face, her eyes stubborn and fierce despite the weariness still tugging at their corners. Her breaths come shallowly, but her voice, when it comes, is firm. "You're not in charge of me."<p>

It hurts most because up until then, Andre had honestly thought that he was. She was Little Red, his to protect, his to wrap his arms around and tousle and joke around with. Watching Caterina reaffirm the distance between them ached like hell, but he pushed it away because _damnit_, this was important.

* * *

><p><em>How had things unraveled so quickly?<em>

She hadn't woken up until Andre pulled up into her old driveway and she heard the sound of breaking glass. It was instinct more than anything that made her duck, and when her seatbelt restrained her, she snapped it open and tried again, curling up as small as she could.

Mrs. Valentine's face was ugly and very drunk as she screamed expletives from outside the window, but Caterina refused to look at her. Instead, she stares at the spidery window where her mother had smashed a beer bottle, and wonders dully who is going to pay for it.

Andre is the first of the boys to break out of his surprise. "Cat—what—" In his surprise, he slips on her name, but right now she doesn't care, because he's pulling out of her driveway—her ex-driveway—and back onto the road, leaving the screaming woman behind like a nightmare.

* * *

><p>Beck is usually the more self-possessed one, but Jade had broken him and the park had barely managed to sew together the pieces. His head is reeling, and right now he can't react, even though his mind is putting the pieces together faster than he wants it to, because oblivion is just so simple. So nice.<p>

He feels a jolt of absolute self-loathing the moment he realizes what he just thought.

* * *

><p>Andre simmers, but doesn't speak until they're a good couple blocks away, nevermind that he has no idea where he is or how to get back home. Beck's eyes are cloudy, but slowly gathering power, like the air right before a storm. Caterina sits, small but proud, daring them to make the first move. She grips the window pane, feeling the small shards of glass dancing delicately at her skin. When she pulls her hand away, there are dots of blood sprinkling her palm, and she blows, wincing as some break free and drift to the ground.<p>

From the corner of her eye she can see the white scar under her cheekbone flashing in Andre's mirror. It looks like war paint, or the shadow of a memory.

* * *

><p>She remembers when her mom started acting strange, started coming home without her paychecks because she'd spent it all on bottles of things Cat herself was forbidden to touch. She'd tried it one night—too thirsty and hungry to care that the concoction smelled awful, but the sour taste had gone straight to her head.<p>

When her mother found her sprawled on the ground and throwing up, she'd very calmly taken what was left of the beer and retreated back to her room. Cat would learn to prefer that reaction over the sometimes violent alternatives.

She'd hoped that Jason—big brother, college-bound Jason who always bought her lollipops when he could afford them—would step in, would save her like a fairy-tale prince or at least James Bond, but he'd never been quite been strong enough to refuse his friends, and them she'd hated with a passion. It was Jason's friends who passed out in her house and dragged Jason off to weird places in the middle of the night, Jason's friends who called her mean names and poked fun at the way she looked, the way she talked and the way she smiled.

She stopped smiling when Jason stopped defending her.

And then, when Andre asked her absently whether something was wrong, she'd started smiling too brightly at school.

* * *

><p>"We're not here to judge you," Beck's voice is quiet, even. A shadow of the strength he would have normally displayed, but they're broken now, and this will have to do. He wonders belatedly if that was why Jade was always so strong, if she'd sucked the steel out of his back and made it her own ferocity, leaving him with nothing but compromise.<p>

"Like hell we aren't," Andre's still furious. He parks and turns, eyes almost glowing in the fading light. "We're your friends. Why would you not trust us with something like this?"

* * *

><p>It's an excellent question. She only wished she knew the answer.<p> 


	11. Talk

****_Really looking for suggestions. Thanks to those who reviewed. _

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

* * *

><p>Somehow, she ends up at Tori's house.<p>

* * *

><p>The tension had been too thick not to break up with words.<p>

"Let me out."

"Cat, we're in the middle of nowhere, and this neighborhood isn't exactly safe."

"_Caterina_, and I'll be fine."

"Yeah, right. Like you've been fine these last—months? Years?"

"I was doing fine."

"Of course you were."

* * *

><p>Andre's tone is still biting, but there's more hurt now than anger, and guilt is making Caterina's stomach clench. She places two hands on her knees, willing her shoulders to stop shaking, for all the emotions to <em>go away.<em> Still, when she realizes where they're going, she doesn't protest. One shock—two, counting the breakup of _BeckandJade_—is more than enough. She doesn't think she—_they_—can take any more.

"Let me borrow your phone."

They don't ask her who she's calling.

* * *

><p>Terry's voice is slightly worried, but only slightly. "You sure? I can come get you."<p>

"It's okay," Caterina hears herself say, almost instinctively, "I'm with friends."

Terry doesn't argue after that, just sighs a little with something between pleasure and surprise. "I'll let the Boss know."

* * *

><p>Beck's trailer is a bit too small for him to share with anyone but a lover, Andre's grandmother would ask questions, she wasn't on that good terms with Robbie, and none of them particularly wanted Jade to blow up at them just yet. Well, maybe Andre wanted her there, just a little, but he would never do that to Beck, not when the wound was still plastered all over the taller boy's face.<p>

So, Tori it was.

* * *

><p>Cat had always been jealous of Tori's beautiful house, her huge backyard and seemingly endless closet of clothes. She'd been jealous of the sparkling clean deck, the sleek television, and especially the glass table where she was sure Tori's family ate together every night. If that glass table was hers, it would be fogged, dirty, cracked. She'd always envisioned it as a reflection of how perfect Tori's life was.<p>

Caterina, on the other hand, wanted to be as far away as possible. Pride choked her, planting her feet as Andre parked. She didn't want pity, especially not Tori's pity. She wasn't Cat.

* * *

><p>Andre senses the fist clenching her stomach, or at least she assumes that's why he stops, finger inches from the doorbell, other hand poised to knock as if by making the loudest noise possible he could erase whatever nightmare he'd just experienced. Stars are supposed to chase away the dark.<p>

But, he stops. Turns around, looks at her. She stares back, and wonders when he got so tall.

* * *

><p><em>I won't tell if you don't want me to. I don't agree with you, but I won't force you into something you don't want.<em>

She hesitates, looks away. They wait, and from behind her, Beck's heart clenches.

…_okay._

* * *

><p>Tori doesn't ask questions, just opens the door and lets them in. The mark on her cheek is all but gone, but her eyes are still red. Cat remembers then that while they'd been chasing Beck, Tori had been all alone, with only Robbie and maybe Rex to talk to. Guilt flutters through her again.<p>

They end up sprawled in Tori's room, not talking, and between the softness of the sheets under her skin and the soft breeze Tori's fan in kissing underneath her hair, Caterina can feel the silence sinking underneath her, weighing her down. Andre and Beck take the floor, Tori slumps into a chair.

Caterina swallows, lifts her chin.

She will not be ashamed of her story.

* * *

><p>When her friends—<em>were they still even that?—<em> had shown up at her door, Tori had assumed they were there to talk about Beck and Jade. It was all that had been on her mind, ever since Jade slapped her for asking too many questions and she rushed through all her classes trying to find someone, anyone to talk to.

Well, that wasn't strictly true—there had been more than enough people willing to talk, but she'd wanted someone who understood that this wasn't just a breakup, this was as shattering as any divorce—that Beck and Jade couldn't be apart. They just couldn't.

And then she'd heard some students whispering about how _BeckCaterinaAndre_ weren't at school anymore and betrayal had hit hard. Why hadn't they taken her too?

Now, as she listens to Caterina's soft voice—so different from the strong, soulful vocals that the girl displayed when singing—she understands. And for once, Tori lets her own pain go, shutters the glow and lets her star dim.

* * *

><p>It feels strange, telling everything to these three. When Cat had imagined letting someone know about her family circumstances—(when Cat wasn't too busy playing pretend and giggling about bunnies and rainbows)—she'd thought Jade would be her confidant. Strong, fierce Jade who'd protect her and hug her and let her cry. Or maybe she'd thought it would be Jade and Beck, so that while Jade raged for her, Beck could take care of the practical side of things.<p>

She'd never imagined half of Jade and Beck, or perfect Tori, or laughing, talented Andre to sit there and listen to her without speaking, without judging. Just being there for her.

* * *

><p>When she's done, there's a moment of pure silence. The very air goes quiet, waiting for the first breath, the first pair of eyes to blink and bring them back to reality. Caterina's heart is higher than she wants to admit, and her hands clenched. In that moment isolated from time, she wonders when her knuckles went white. She hadn't meant to let herself get so vulnerable.<p>

Trina ruins the night, or saves it, when she slams open the door, screaming for her purple slippers. Tori grabs it from the floor, shoves it into her sister's face and screams back, and in that moment of normalcy Caterina looks down, catching her breath. She shoves Cat as far down as she can manage, ignoring the pain as her insides tear, and when she looks up, there is iron in her face, steel in her back. Glass in her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, she's never looked more beautiful, or more heartbreakingly sad.


	12. Again

___Things are winding to a close. Reviews welcome!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

* * *

><p>It's too late. Cat's had a taste of freedom, and no matter how hard Caterina pushes, her other, past—<em>weaker<em>—self, fights back with a ferocity Caterina hates because it belongs to her. Cat's supposed to be weak, the baby girl that needed others to survive, that needed people, that needed her friends.

Caterina's supposed to be stronger than all that.

* * *

><p>She stays at Tori's house for the weekend, and when Trina complains, she's deathly afraid that Tori's parents—nice, normal Mr. and Mrs. Vega—are going to ask questions. An hour passes, then another, and finally Tori comes upstairs with a determined smile on her face and tells Caterina that she's free to stay for as long as she needs to.<p>

Caterina doesn't ask if Tori told them. The tears on Tori's cheeks are answer enough.

* * *

><p>She refuses to leave the room, just sits there quietly, strumming Tori's beautiful, sleek guitar that the other girl never truly learned how to play. Cat had laughed when Tori had told her that, so flippantly, as if guitars came along freely. Caterina was jealous.<p>

She's not that good—with only a couple lessons with Andre, how could she be?—but the chords are sweet and the way the strings dig into her fingers reminds her that she's still there. She's still sitting in Tori Vega's house, feeling the soft bedsheets around her thighs.

* * *

><p>The smallest things make her want to cry. Tori's soft hand on her shoulder, the bright, clean lights that twinkle out when she's supposed to be asleep, the polished, glowing floor.<p>

She closes her eyes to block out the room that looks too much like her fantasy castle when she was little and trying not to think about the smell of dirty clothes she was too small to wash, the rotting food and sound of her mother sobbing over another empty bottle.

But then, when her vision is black, her mind refuses to quiet, choosing instead to replay all the memories. Were things really so bad, back then? She remembers smiling, laughing—not always genuinely, but at least it was laughter.

* * *

><p>Saturday dawns and Tori heads off to some community arts program that's sure to impress college admissions at whatever school the star decides to attend. To her credit, the older girl turns and looks at Caterina, and her voice is completely honest when she tells her that she'll stay if Caterina asks.<p>

Caterina doesn't ask.

Her mind tells her that she doesn't want—_can't have_—company, that her defenses are so weak that any more blows might shatter Cat's prison. Her body, however, doesn't seem to hear, and before she knows it she's out of the house and walking down a too-familiar street.

* * *

><p>When Jade opens the door, Caterina's first thought is that the other girl looks completely normal. Annoyed and irritated, but only to the degree that Jade normally was. Her second thought is complete fury. How can her best-friend be so normal after breaking Beck's heart?<p>

Then, Cat forces her to look deeper, and she sees the carefully applied makeup covering the redness around Jade's eyes, the gaunt shadows under the other girl's cheekbones, the lines on her wrists where Jade's fingernails dug too deep and broke the skin.

She's not okay.

* * *

><p>Caterina loses the ability to speak. Jade just looks at her, and Caterina knows with complete certainty that the older girl needs comfort, needs Cat to hug her and tell her everything will be alright.<p>

She's already let Cat out once in the last twenty-four hours, and the irony is not lost on her that while the last time it was for Beck, this time it's for the girl that made it necessary for her to find him.

And yet—Jade is her best friend, and Caterina just can't stand there any longer.

* * *

><p>The prison shatters, and Cat takes over. Just for a moment. Just enough to wrap Jade in her arms in a hug so fierce that it pushes the girls into the house, the door slamming behind them.<p>

* * *

><p>The older girl is thinner than she remembers—Jade's always been slender, but something about the unhealthy boniness of her hips lets Cat know that this isn't natural. Jade is crying into her hair, and Cat lets her, because she's realizing that it's her fault, or, partly her fault at least, that her best friend has lost so much weight.<p>

They don't talk, but Cat lets Jade babble nonsense mixed with curses mixed with emotions that make Caterina fight for control again. But Cat is in control, and she's not giving up her throne, not just yet. The fact that Jade is so vulnerable in her arms just solidifies her determination, and Caterina finds to her dismay that no matter how hard she fights, she's stuck to the barest corners of her own mind.

Or has it been Cat's mind all along?

* * *

><p>They end up on Jade's roof. It's a slippery, dangerous perch, but the wind dries their tears and ruffles their clothes, as if promising to sweep away the heartache that has so burdened them for so long. Her parents are out, and Cat is grateful. She knows that Jade doesn't want to see her model of a mom or picture-perfect father at the moment, not when she's lost the edge that gave her who she was apart from the West family's normalcy.<p>

Jade doesn't thank her, but Cat doesn't need her to. The way the other girl leans into her shoulder—as if Cat is strong enough to support both of them—is enough. For Cat, at least.

* * *

><p>Then, Jade straightens, and locks Cat in a stare that is suddenly angry. "Why did you go to him first?"<p>

They both know exactly what she means.


End file.
